LCD Soundsystem Doc Announced, James Murphy Scores Acting Gig

Film chronicling the band's final show accepted to Sundance Film Festival

James Murphy’s perpetually stubbly face will grace the big screen in two different Sundance Film Festival productions next year. Shut Up and Play the Hits follows the LCD Soundsystem frontman during the day of band’s final show at Madison Square Garden to the morning after. The film, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, will be screened as part of the festival’s out-of-competition category. As the Twitter account @ArcadeFireTube pointed out, the documentary’s title comes from Win Butler, who shouted the line during a surprise Arcade Fire cameo at the gig.

After revisiting Murphy’s swan song, festivalgoers can judge whether his acting chops compare to his musical offerings at the screening for The Comedy. The Jagjaguwar co-produced film, recently accepted into the festival, stars comedian Tim Heidecker as Swanson, an apathetic dude “on the verge of collapse,” as he wastes away his days with some “aging Brooklyn hipsters.” The label’s synopsis is vague and doesn’t clarify Murphy’s role, but it promises a “cautionary fable for the autumn of the American era.” Hey, that doesn’t sound like a comedy at all! Directed by Rick Alverson, the film also features Gregg Turkington, better known as professional annoyance Neil Hamburger and indie actress Kate Lyn Sheil.

Sundance takes place in Park City Utah, January 19 to 29. Hopefully tickets won’t be as complicated as getting into the final LCD Soundsystem show.